BASEBALL

BASEBALL; Mets Are Hardly a Hit and Almost Don't Get One

By LEE JENKINS

Published: April 26, 2004

CHICAGO, April 25—
For much of Sunday afternoon, there was a new feeling around the Mets, an unmistakable buzz, an overriding sense that they might finally crack baseball's consciousness and snatch a little national attention.

Through six and a third innings, the Mets' futility was actually turning heads. They had failed to record a hit, the crowd at Wrigley Field was standing every time the count reached two strikes, and Cubs pitcher Matt Clement was teasing the Mets with sliders a foot off the plate and in the dirt.

Buried in a thick bed of shrubbery beyond the center-field wall is a baseball that spared the Mets some heavy embarrassment. With one out in the seventh inning, Karim Garcia hit a deep fly to center, and Corey Patterson lifted his glove as if he were going to make the catch, continuing the no-hit bid. That the ball carried into the brush for a home run was nearly the extent of the Mets' success this weekend.

In three games against the Cubs, they struck out 37 times, scored 2 runs and barely avoided a no-hitter in Sunday's 4-1 loss.

''It wasn't fun watching,'' said Mets Manager Art Howe, whose team mustered two hits in the series finale. ''I'm getting tired of saying the same thing every day.''

After the Mets (7-12) were swept by the Cubs, Mets General Manager Jim Duquette said: ''I don't think it's time to panic. It's a collective struggle that you don't like to see. The coaches are handling it the best they can, trying to stay positive. I don't tend to react to these things in Game 19. It would be like reacting to an N.F.L. season in Game 2.''

The Mets were fortunate just to have Garcia in the lineup in the seventh inning. In the fourth, he blacked out after running into a padded brick wall in right field while catching a foul ball. Still, he stayed in the game and enjoyed one of the few fastballs Clement left up in the strike zone.

''Not getting no-hit was the main thing today,'' Garcia said.

The Cubs had not recorded a no-hitter since Milt Pappas threw one in 1972, but the Mets were the perfect foe for Clement, who keeps the ball down and outside, taking advantage of undisciplined hitters. The Mets have lost 8 of 10 games, have scored no more than one run in seven of nine games and have been swept in consecutive weekend series. Jason Phillips, who is 0 for his last 25 and shaved his goatee for luck, said he was in the worst slump of his career. Many of his teammates are joining him.

''You breathe this game and it doesn't give you light at the end of the tunnel,'' he said. ''This game will kick you when you're down.''

After a day off Monday, the Mets are headed to Los Angeles and San Diego to face two more winning teams in pitchers' parks. The hitting coach Denny Walling said he would approach players on the flight to Los Angeles and encourage them to attend. ''We're pretty near bottom, don't you think?'' Walling said.

When the Mets reported to the stadium Sunday, they mentioned that the wind was blowing out and that it had warmed up considerably. It seemed the right climate for a breakthrough -- until the lineup was revealed. Of the eight regulars in the batting order, four were hitting under .200, and three had not even been expected to make the team when spring training began.

Among those on the bench were Shane Spencer, who had a tight hamstring, and Mike Cameron, who was not informed that he was being held out and was not at all happy about it.

The Mets were so desperate for offense that Howe pulled Al Leiter after five innings and 79 pitches, even though Leiter had surrendered only a two-run homer to Aramis Ramirez and a two-out run-scoring single to Patterson.

Howe lifted Leiter for pinch-hitter Danny Garcia because the Mets were being no-hit, and he wanted to find some offense. When Leiter was informed of the move, his response was: ''What?''

''It's his decision,'' Leiter said. ''He's got a job to do and I've got a job to do. But I felt fine.''

Shortly after Danny Garcia struck out in Leiter's place, a steady drizzle started and the Mets seemed ready to be no-hit for the first time since 1993.

After the game, while Braden Looper showed off the World Series ring he was given by the Florida Marlins on Sunday, the rest of the Mets were asked about their chances in the rest of this season. For the first time, they sounded anxious and exasperated. The club expects Cliff Floyd to return this week, but the way the Mets are going, they need Floyd to bring a few 30-homer friends with him.

''The mood isn't good right now,'' Mike Piazza said. ''We've gone from bad to worse and I don't think anybody is exempt from it. The last 10 days have been very poor. We have to address it. We need to think about how poorly we're swinging the bats.''

Photo: Fans at Wrigley Field delighting in one of Mike Piazza's three strikeouts against Cubs pitcher Matt Clement. Piazza went 0 for 4 yesterday. (Photo by Getty Images)